


Impromptu Shopping Trip

by Please No Portraits (GothAlbinoAngel)



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Collars, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Scars, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 07:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25346698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothAlbinoAngel/pseuds/Please%20No%20Portraits
Summary: Anon asked: Could you do a fluffy parrward pleaseCathy notices something wrong with Kit. Since she seems to be the only one who noticed, she will be the one to rectify it. Simple as that.
Relationships: Katherine Howard/Catherine Parr
Comments: 10
Kudos: 72





	Impromptu Shopping Trip

**Author's Note:**

> Nicknames: Kit - Howard, Cathy - Parr, Lina - Aragon  
> Ages: Kit - 20, Cathy - 23, Anna and Anne - 25

Something was wrong with Kit. 

It wasn’t obvious. None of the others seemed to notice, and if they did, they didn’t mention it. It was a testament to how well they knew each other, really. Cathy knew that if Anne or Anna noticed, they would have said something right away. Anne never passed up a chance to make sure her cousin was alright, and Anna just hated seeing Kit looking anything other than a ray of sunshine. Jane and Lina tended to be quieter about these kinds of things, and would have spoken to Kit in private. However, they wouldn’t let her suspicious behavior continue, so Cathy knew they must’ve been unaware of a problem as well. 

Cathy supposed it may have just been how observant she was. Even though Kit arguably spent more time with Anna and Anne, because she and Cathy were so close, Cathy found herself watching Kit more often. And that’s how Cathy noticed that something was wrong. 

It took her a day or two to figure out what the problem was. She tried to be inconspicuous with her staring, not wamting to be needled by Anna again for ‘making starry eyes’ at her ‘sweetheart’. Kit was mostly herself, but there were small tells that something was up. She tended to tense a bit more whenever she went out alone, different from her bubbly behavior when they all went out as a group. Whenever she had her back to a window, she would hike the collar of her shirt higher and shoot frequent glances behind her. It was a nervous behavior that Jane and Cathy were trying to soothe her out of. 

The most telling thing, though, was how often Kit’s hand rose to the uncovered scar around her neck whenever she knew people were looking at her. She and Anne had taken to not hiding their scars in the house as often, now that all six former queens had been united with each other. However, unlike Anne, who practically flaunted her own misfortune as a means of making jabs at Henry, Cathy noticed that Kit tended to be more reserved about her own mark of death.

It was easy enough to see what was happening. Cathy sipped her tea one morning as she watched Anne, Kit, and Anna make jokes with one another around breakfast. She counted in her head the number of times Kit touched or covered her scar in a ten-minute span. First ten minutes, seven times. The topic wasn’t on anything particularly important. Next ten minutes, sixteen times. Anne had begun mocking Henry. Last ten minutes, four times. The topic wasn’t anything specific, but Jane came in and everyone settled down so she could eat without too much chaos.

Cathy downed the last of her (now cold) tea and stood. “Kitten, you mind joining me a moment?”

Kit glanced up and nodded. “Yeah, just gimme a second.” She stared down at the last waffle. Quickly shoving it into her mouth, she clapped her hands together to get rid of crumbs and bounced over to Cathy’s side.

Cathy gave a soft laugh as she led them out to the back porch. She settled on her lawn chair and Kit plopped down on her much fluffier chair expectantly. “So, what’d you wanna talk about?”

“Nothing much,” Cathy told her calmly. She purposefully fixed her gaze at Kit’s chin. “Just wanted to make sure you’re doing alright today.”

“Uh, yeah, I’m… I’m okay.” The squirming was much more obvious now. Kit’s eyes followed her gaze and she self-consciously brought a hand up. She tried to make it seem as though she was rubbing her neck, but her fingers very obviously covered around the front of her throat. She really didn’t like Cathy’s eyes on her like that.

That was all the information Cathy needed. She’d gotten her research and her confirmation. Time to fix the problem. With a hum, she pushed off the chair. “Do you wanna make a store run with me? I need a new hat.”

Asking questions was something the other queens had noticed sometimes put Kit on edge. It was something she’d struggled with when she was younger. She hated to disappoint, but feared yelling and violence if she gave the wrong answer. The years living with Anne had helped break her from the anxiety, but it still cropped up from time to time. Most often, this happened whenever her nerves were already high from something else. In those times, the other queens only asked questions that centered on Kit and talked through anything else with her so she didn’t relapse back into that pressured state of mind.

This was a strategic move on Cathy’s part to get Kit to come along. Cathy hated that she had to pull that trick, but she hoped she could make up for it with the true purpose of the spontaneous shopping trip. The last thing she ever wanted was to send Kit back to terrible times.

“I, uh, yeah, I’ll come along.” Kit’s eyes flicked to the door. She knew Cathy never expected anything of her, but the question made her already frazzled nerves a little antsy.

Cathy gave Kit a soothing smile and held out her hand. The tension in her girlfriend’s shoulders evaporated immediately and Cathy gave herself a high five for calming Kit’s nerves a little. “Don’t worry, nothing too extra. Just a hat or two, maybe some other accessories.”

“Okay, then, let’s get going!” Kit reached up to tussle Cathy’s voluminous curls with a grin. “Can’t letcha head get cold. That would be a tragedy.”

They shared a laugh as they headed back inside to grab their jackets and shoes. Anne and Anna poked their heads from the kitchen and raised an eyebrow at them curiously. They shared a glance before practically skipping to Kit’s side as she was securing a scarf in place.

“Well, and what are you little lovebirds doing, eh?” Anne teased, ruffling her cousin’s ponytail.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Kit snickered. She reached up to flip some of Anne’s hair in retaliation.

“Aw don’t be that way, Kitty cat,” Anne fake-pouted. “Come on, is it a super-secret last-minute date?”

Kit gave both of them a sly smile. Anne and Anna leaned in close and Kit stood on tiptoe to whisper, “We’re going… shopping.”

While they blinked in confusion, Kit slipped out the door with a quick, “Bye!”

Outside, Cathy was already waiting in the car. Kit darted in and secured her seatbelt just as the other two barreled out the door. Not even waiting a second, Cathy pulled from the driveway with a wave. Kit blew her cousin a kiss as they disappeared down the street.

“She’s lucky she’s cute!” Anne huffed, crossing her arms. “I wanted to grab a new jacket!”

Anna snorted and wrapped an arm around Anne’s shoulders. “Well, we can wait til they get back and just snatch their stuff.”

Kit settled into the seat with a laugh and Cathy asked, “What happened?”

“They probably just wanted to come along,” Kit shrugged. “Annie’s been eyeing this cool leather jacket with red and gold accents.”

“You should get it for her while we’re out,” Cathy laughed.

“It’ll be a great surprise when she tries to snoop in the bags.”

Kit fiddled with the radio on the way, looking for something good to listen to. Cathy watched her carefully, her mind working through the best way to carry out the plan. Kit loved shopping, so she would distract herself. That would give Cathy a bit of space to go looking for ‘hats’, but how to bring it up…

As they pulled into the parking lot, Cathy decided she would just have to pull a page from Anne’s book and wing it. Kit linked arms with Cathy and dragged her over to the hat section. Okay, slipping away will be a little bit difficult but this was fine.

Kit placed a black cowboy hat on Cathy’s head and Cathy raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk. “Really?” she snorted. The hat fell over her curls nicely, but it pressed her bangs over her face. She could only see out of one eye.

“It looks cute!” Kit pointed out, snagging a hot pink fedora instead. She smoothed Cathy’s curls down before settling the fedora in place. “Pink looks good on you,” she hummed.

“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Cathy snickered, sweeping the fedora off with a flourish.

Kit rolled her eyes and plopped a red visor over the curls instead. Cathy readjusted it and Kit cooed at her. “You look adorable,” she said.

“Is that so?” Cathy huffed. “I doubt I could look more adorable than you.”

“Charmer,” Kit muttered, snatching the visor back.

“Only for you, babe,” Cathy reminded her cheekily.

Kit stuck her tongue out at her as she lifted a purple sunhat from the shelf. “Ooh, this one will look nice.” She set it on Cathy’s head. It pressed the curls down like the others, but it looked good. “I think you should get this one.”

Cathy swiped up the red visor as well, and slipped the sunhat off her head. “These two seemed to get the best reactions, so I think they’ll do.”

Kit grinned and turned. As she did, Cathy spotted the display she wanted to find. Stepping off as Kit examined some belts, Cathy eyed the display carefully. Kit loved pink, green, and blue. Something fluffy or cute would probably get the best reaction, but something plain would draw the least attention. A nice blue one caught Cathy’s eye and she lifted it carefully. It was the right size and length-.

“Cat, which belt do you think I- what are you doing?” Kit tilted her head to the side as she walked closer. Fingering the piece Cathy was looking at, she asked, “Collars?”

“Chokers,” Cathy corrected awkwardly. “…and decorative collars, yes.”

“I didn’t know you were into these,” Kit murmured. “Annie loves them. Lina gets her one every birthday.”

Cathy rubbed her hands together carefully. “Actually, I was looking for a few… for you.”

“Me?” Kit asked.

“For your… neck?” Cathy motioned to her own neck as indication and Kit’s eyes widened.

“ _Oh!_ ” Big brown eyes looked from the collar to Cathy and back. “Aw, that’s so sweet!”

A laugh bubbled up Cathy’s throat and she held the blue one up. “I just think it will be nice. It must get hot wearing a scarf every summer, right?”

Kit nodded, carefully unwrapping her scarf to try the choker on. “I guess. I stopped noticing after a while, but it’ll be nice to have a few that won’t clash with my clothes.” She smirked over at Cathy. “Then I can wear that dress you like.”

Cathy shook her head. “You are unbelievable.” She checked over a cute pink one while Kit tested the blue one. “I don’t know how the house doesn’t collapse under you and Anne flirting every chance you get.”

“Says the one who was calling me adorable five minutes ago,” Kit snorted, removing the choker. “Don’t act like you and Anna aren’t just the same.”

“Okay, okay,” Cathy conceded with an exaggerated sigh. “Can’t get anything past you, Kitten.”

“Got that right,” Kit said cheekily, pecking Cathy’s cheek. She fingered the pink one. “This one looks cute.”

Cathy nodded. “I can see you wearing it around the house.”

They looked through the selection a bit more, picking out ones that Kit could wear without getting odd looks. Cathy picked out a green one with a four leaf clover pendant and a plain brown one with fuzzy studs around it. Kit found an adorable lavender choker with a small flower hanging from it, a yellow one with sunflowers, and a black one with rhinestones. She also modeled a pink collar for Cathy, who agreed they should get it, too. Kit picked out a K charm to hook into it and complete the look.

Satisfied with their haul, the two of them started for the front counter to pay. As they were turning away, though, Kit spotted something that made her gasp happily. Cathy paused in confusion as her girlfriend practically bounded back for the display.

“Cathy, we _have_ to get this one!” Kit breathed, snagging one last collar from the shelf.

Cathy stared at it in confusion. “Why that one, Kitten?”

Kit motioned to the little clowns on it. “I think this would be perfect for Prank Day!” Her lips tugged into a very Anne-like smirk. “I might even take inspiration from it.”

“The Chaos Twins better watch out,” Cathy muttered, shaking her head as she continued for the front counter. “You’re going to be a force to be reckoned with if that thing is going to be your inspiration.”

Kit stuck a tongue out at her back and followed along. Once their selection was paid for, Kit slipped her hand in Cathy’s and tugged her to the clothing section. “I saw the jacket Annie wanted over in the men’s section,” she explained. “And I saw a hoodie you might like!”

“How do you always manage to find something for everyone,” Cathy laughed, allowing herself to be tugged along.

“It’s a gift,” Kit responded. “Besides, you brought me out shopping, you should’ve known this would happen!”

Cathy leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek. “Yeah, I should’ve.”

**~~~**

Anne growled as she mashed the controller buttons as hard as she could. “Oh, _come on!”_ she growled, throwing her hands in the air as Anna’s fighter knocked hers out.

“Toldja to get the heavy hitter,” Anna snickered.

“You know I do better with the faster fighters,” Anne huffed, grabbing a bag of chips and tossing another to Anna.

“ _Do_ you?” Anna smirked at Anne’s glare.

“You’re supposed to be better with the heavy hitters, but you always los-.” The sound of the front door opening took their attention and they perked up. “The lovebirds are home!”

Anna darted out of the living room with Anne on her heels and they skidded to a stop at the front door. Kit and Cathy were just in the middle of removing their jackets, so Anne swiped up their bags. Prancing backward from Kit trying to grab the bags from her, Anne smirked at her baby cousin.

“What’d ya get, Kitkat?” she chirped.

“None of your business, Annie,” Kit pouted at her, easily slipping out of her shoes.

“We’ll see about that!” Anne chuckled, opening the bag and peering inside. Anna watched in confusion as Anne’s eyes widened. Brown eyes snapped up to Kit in a mix of shock and horror and she quickly threw the bags back.

Cathy caught them before the contents spilled and snickered at Anne’s expression. “She did tell you it was none of your business.”

“I never told you _what_ Cat and I were shopping for.” Kit’s grin took up her entire face as she stared down her cousin.

Anne’s jaw tensed and flexed several times before she threw her hands up again and stormed up the stairs. The trio watched her go before Anna turned to the remaining two. “Do I even wanna know what’s in there?”

“Cat took me shopping for some chokers,” Kit giggled now that Anne was out of earshot. “And we got her some hats and a few other things. But we knew Annie would look in the bags when we came back. So we stopped by a store we usually wouldn’t to pick up something to distract her.”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “I will _not_ ask.”

“Good idea,” Cathy laughed, reaching into a different bag and pulling out a leather vest with a rose design on the back. “This is for you, by the way. As soon as we saw it, we had to get it for you.”

“ _Nice!”_ Anna gasped. She slipped into the vest and pulled it taut. “Does it look okay?”

“Looks great!” Kit told her with a thumbs up.

Anna returned it and headed for her room to put the vest away. As she went, Kit turned to Cathy and leaned against her. “Thanks for taking me out today, Cat.”

Cathy’s fingers came up to stroke Kit’s ponytail. “It was no problem, Kitten,” she replied softly. “I noticed how you were whenever it wasn’t covered. I thought this would be better.”

Kit leaned up and gave her a quick kiss. “You’re the best.”

“Only because it’s you,” Cathy chuckled, grabbing their bags and heading up the stairs.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I’ve had for a while, so I'm glad I got this request. Thanks for reading!


End file.
